Come on people... this movie SUCKS

Rating: 3/10 (24 July 2005)

It's amazing how the comment sections have been co-opted by studio flacks masquerading as fans. This movie is already tanking (opened at No. 4) and you can just smell the desperation. When you're reading a positive review that sounds more like a press release than a casual remark, you're probably reading the work of a publicist. Just FY to the I people.
You can't rate Michael Bay movies against other films, as they fall into their own category that almost defies criticism; you can only compare one Bay film to another. If you're of the opinion that "Armageddon" is somewhere near "Lawrence of Arabia" in quality then sorry, you're beyond help. His films are loud, bombastic, misogynistic exercises in excess. If you go into "The Island" expecting that then you'll find it. Just don't call it a "good" film.
As to the comments about how great the story is this time out, let me just say there isn't ONE moment in this film that is not derivative of another scifi film. It lifts liberally and shamelessly from "The Matrix", "Logan's Run", "Blade Runner", "Coma", "THX-1138" and a cult film called "The Clonus Horror". In fact there are so many similarities between "Island" and "Clonus" -- plot, circumstances, costumes, human-sized Ziplocs -- that I think the creators of the old film could sue. If you think it's okay to support this kind of 'throw it in a blender' approach to screen writing then don't complain when the studios keep churning out these Franken-films made from parts of other (better) films you've already seen.
The most disturbing part of the film is not the depiction of human cloning, but the depiction of women and minorities. The future that Bay paints is practically lilly-white, despite what you see now when you step outside. I think I saw a few token minorities sprinkled amongst the clones but most of them are white. The handful of black characters in the film (with the barest of exception of Hounsou's) only further the usual stereotypes; there's the big sassy woman with attitude, the guy who's friends with Jesus, and the athlete. And women in general don't come off any better, represented as perfume models, strippers, baby factories or your basic dumb whore. If you support this film, are you saying you support this brand of racism and misogyny too?